The pedestrian street

The research forming the basis of this book was supported by the Swedish
research council Formas, and is primarily based on the research project
‘Territories of Consumption – Design and Territorial Control in Urban
Commercial Spaces’. The book has also benefitted from the work done as
I participated in the Formas research projects ‘Contradictory Urbanism’
(with project leader professor Katarina Nylund) and the Formas/Urban-net
project ‘Replacis – Retail Planning for Sustainable Cities’ (with project leader
professor Teresa Barata-Salgueira)....

This report provides information and recommendations on the results of the Coordinated
Street Furniture Program Request for Proposals No. 9103-06-7316. Staff are seeking
City Council’s authority to enter into negotiations with the Vendor best satisfying the
requirements of the RFP, Astral Media Outdoor LP, to finalize contract provisions,
incorporate technical and design refinements to the recommended family of street
furniture; and enter an Agreement with the recommended Vendor.

Thirty-some years ago, I spent my junior year abroad studying Danish and
English literature at the University of Copenhagen. During the long, dusky
Danish winter days, the lights of Copenhagen’s specialty shops cast an
inviting glow out over the dim sidewalks. With idle hours to fill between
university classes, I often succumbed to the lure of fine design and friendly
European service, wandering from shop to shop along Copenhagen’s
winding pedestrian streets.

Based on the public consultations, relevant experiences and research, a number of criteria were developed for a
new program that puts the needs of pedestrians first. The criteria call for new street furniture elements to provide
exceptional design, universal accessibility, safety, quality maintenance, pedestrian-oriented placement and sustainable
components. Revenues from selective advertising could finance the program and return a benefit to the City for the
privilege of occupying the public realm.
The principles in this document are the result of the consultations and research.

We demonstrate a web-based environment for development and testing of different pedestrian route instruction-giving systems. The environment contains a City Model, a TTS interface, a game-world, and a user GUI including a simulated street-view. We describe the environment and components, the metrics that can be used for the evaluation of pedestrian route instruction-giving systems, and the shared challenge which is being organised using this environment.